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Jan 2017

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Ask a teacher anything here

Greetings! I have returned to this forum after taking several years off.

I have been teaching and arranging all of the music for a competitive high school drumline since 1993. If you have any questions I could answer about anything marching band, I will do my best to help you out.

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Jul 2011

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Georgia

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Re: Ask a teacher anything here

Originally Posted by Redeye

Greetings! I have returned to this forum after taking several years off.

I have been teaching and arranging all of the music for a competitive high school drumline since 1993. If you have any questions I could answer about anything marching band, I will do my best to help you out.

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Jan 2017

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40

Re: Ask a teacher anything here

Originally Posted by SpazApproved

welcome back
That is a very nice gesture.
Thanks for offering your knowledge to the site!

Thanks and everyone is welcome! I just read through your PDP X7 thread last night. I play congas/timbales in a one of my bands and the drummer has that exactly kit in orange, but hasn't been using it lately. It's gorgeous! That finish is very well done.

Originally Posted by longgun

What's up Shane..........missed you around here.

Still playing those Crush acrylics?

Thanks and glad to be back! My love affair with Crush ended badly unfortunately. When my floor tom started to crack around the leg mounts, all of a sudden no one there would return my emails, calls, tweets, FB posts, or even acknowledge that I was a customer. The drums will still probably last decades, but I can't stand the sight of their logo anymore so I've put them in a corner. I'll probably try to sell them and move on.

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Re: Ask a teacher anything here

Originally Posted by longgun

What's up Shane..........missed you around here.

Still playing those Crush acrylics?

Thanks! I tried to reply 3 days ago, but somehow I'm still on probation status even though I was able to start this thread. Weird. Anyway, my love affair with Crush ended badly. I was in contact with the president of the company over my cracked snare drum, which they replaced after 18 months. Then when my floor tom started cracking, he and everyone in the company completely stopped responding to my reasonable requests for a replacement shell. So I made sure everyone that watched all of my videos with that kit knew exactly what they are all about. It's sad, actually. I've moved on, but now I have to figure out what to do with that kit.

Thanks for the welcome, and hopefully I can help some people out here.

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Re: Ask a teacher anything here

Originally Posted by longgun

What's up Shane..........missed you around here.

Still playing those Crush acrylics?

Sorry - I am just now able to reply. For some reason I was still on newby probation even though I was able to start this thread. Weird. Anyway...My love affair with Crush ended badly. After getting a replacement snare due to cracking, my floor tom started to crack and the president of the company (who reluctantly helped me with the snare), decided to completely ignore all attempts at contact from me. I just decided to put the kit on a shelf rather than continue to give them YouTube exposure.

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Re: Ask a teacher anything here

Originally Posted by SpazApproved

welcome back
That is a very nice gesture.
Thanks for offering your knowledge to the site!

Thanks for the welcome back! I actually went through your entire PDP X7 thread the other day. Impressive! In my side band, I play congas and timbales and the drummer has that same kit in the same orange finish. It was 6 months before I realized it was lacquered and not a wrap. Those things are gorgeous.

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Feb 2011

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atlanta

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3,583

Re: Ask a teacher anything here

I have questions about marching snares. Why do they always sound choked? are they tuned by the heads or by the guts? and marching snare sticks are usually tree limbs. Are they made that way to achieve maximum volume from the snare? thanks

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Re: Ask a teacher anything here

Originally Posted by slinky

I have questions about marching snares. Why do they always sound choked? are they tuned by the heads or by the guts? and marching snare sticks are usually tree limbs. Are they made that way to achieve maximum volume from the snare? thanks

Marching snares don't have to sound choked, but most people tune them that way, probably without realizing it. The natural tendency with Kevlar heads and modern drums is to crank them really high all around. They will cut through the wind instruments that way, but they don't produce much body to the sound (it's really thin), unless...you use really heavy sticks! This whole concept works fine if you've got 8 or so strong 17 and 18 year old guys in a drum corps, but it's hard to maintain when you have 4 high school students, some of them 14 years old.

You can tune the drums lower and use smaller sticks (probably never smaller than 2A size) and it sounds fine, but modern drumlines have that distinctive super high snare sound, so tuning lower can make you sound dated (or retro). The same thing happens when band directors tune quads really low like drumset toms, you sound like you have old, beat-up equipment. If you compete at all with marching band, that's not a helpful sound.

My solution with my high school line is to use indoor sized drums (13"x10" snares) so I can tune a bit lower for hand comfort. I can also loosen the snare wires to where they almost buzz a little. We also use indoor marching sticks instead of the huge clubs some people try to use. We end up not having too much volume, which lets us play a bit louder, which is usually easier to clean parts.

A new trend I'm seeing is for some college bands, usually the more dance and show oriented ones, is to just dump the kevlar heads and go back to the regular Powerstroke plastic heads. That works only if you have a big snare line and really sell it well. If the line is dirty with those heads, it sounds like a huge mess. Also, a kevlar head can last an entire season. The plastic ones are a lot more prone to splitting, so if the budget isn't good, that's hard to do.

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Oct 2011

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Memphis Tennessee

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774

Re: Ask a teacher anything here

Originally Posted by Redeye

Greetings! I have returned to this forum after taking several years off.

I have been teaching and arranging all of the music for a competitive high school drumline since 1993. If you have any questions I could answer about anything marching band, I will do my best to help you out.

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Join Date

Jan 2017

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40

Re: Ask a teacher anything here

Originally Posted by jgraham798

Hey Shane!

Good to have you back my friend!

I hope all is well with you!

Thanks Jim! Everything is indeed well with me. Good job, great band, decent health, and tolerable students. I'll likely stick with a select few education type threads rather than spending a lot of time looking at everything (due to my schedule), but it will be nice to chat drums a little bit again.

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Re: Ask a teacher anything here

Originally Posted by slinky

thanks for the answers, seems like they would sound way better with Powerstrokes on them. The Kevlar sounds like mud after awhile.

Agreed. I do like the sound of new Kevlar heads over the Powerstoke plastic ones with a full line of players, even though plastic sounds great for solo stuff. Sadly, most band directors can't tell when the heads are going dead and I've heard some really awful tuning, even from drum instructors that should know better. In the end, I think Kevlar is the way to go, but you have to tune them right and give them enough attention to maintain it for a full season. Also, don't get me started on some of the really awful bottom head situations I've seen over the years. That's likely more of a problem.

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Re: Ask a teacher anything here

I haven't had an opportunity to here new Kevlar. I made my assumption from an old Remo one I had. I kinda asked the choked question wrong. I know they are tuned by heads but aren't the guts tunable too? each strand having screws to loosen or tighten them?

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Re: Ask a teacher anything here

Originally Posted by slinky

I haven't had an opportunity to here new Kevlar. I made my assumption from an old Remo one I had. I kinda asked the choked question wrong. I know they are tuned by heads but aren't the guts tunable too? each strand having screws to loosen or tighten them?

Sorry - I know I replied to this, but it appears I have lost it due to the upgrade problem. Hopefully you saw that, it was lengthy...

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Apr 2006

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Re: Ask a teacher anything here

Alright Shane, I've got a question for you. Something that's been bothering me for a long time and since you're the drum lessons guy, maybe you can help me. Do I hold the one drumstick in the right hand or the left one? And what about the other one? Why don't they mark them so we can know?

- Tom

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Re: Ask a teacher anything here

Originally Posted by drummer

Alright Shane, I've got a question for you. Something that's been bothering me for a long time and since you're the drum lessons guy, maybe you can help me. Do I hold the one drumstick in the right hand or the left one? And what about the other one? Why don't they mark them so we can know?

From what I've heard, it's a massive conspiracy to keep left handed drummers off balance so they will just quit and not keep setting up their kits backwards.

I'm actually embarrassed to admit that I have been known to mark my sticks R/L after I break them in a bit.

When you shop at Drum Bum or BuyGifts.com, you help with the costs of operating DrumChat.com. Please consider patronizing their fine stores. Whether you need unique music gifts for friends or just want a a little something for yourself, Drum Bum is the place!